A tough, tender, debut novel, in the tradition of Dorothy
Allison and Janet Fitch, Hand Me Down is the
unforgettable story of a girl who travels between
California and Utah in search of her true family, having
never been loved best of all.

Fourteen-year-old
Elizabeth Reid has spent her life protecting her sister,
Jaime, from their parents' cruel mistakes. Their father,
who'd rather work the system than a job, pours every dollar
into his many vices, denying his daughters the shoes and
clothing they need. Their mother, once a loving parent, is
going through a post-post-adolescent rebellious streak and
finds love with a dangerous ex-con. When she chooses
starting a new family over raising her first-born girls,
Elizabeth and Jaime are separated and forced to rely on the
begrudging kindness of increasingly distant
relatives.

A string of broken promises that begins
with Liz's mother swearing, "I would never hurt you, Liz.
You're family," propels her between guest beds in two
states searching for a safe home. All the while, Liz is
burdened by her stake in a bleak pact with a deceitful
adult: to tell the truth about the darkest of her
circumstances will cost her the ability to shelter Jaime.
As Liz spirals into the abyss of fear and shame that haunts
her sleepless nights, can she break free from her bonds in
time to fight for her life?

Thorne writes with a
command of language that is at once affecting and enticing.
Her debut is the kind of voice-driven reading experience
fiction lovers crave